Performer Joel Granger was the winner of the 2016 AIMES Arts Award. His talent and passion for the stage has already seen him achieve musical feats many actors can only dream of. Channel's Heather Barker Vermeer caught up with Joel about what drives him and his story since AIMES win success...

The AIMES Award is an acknowledgement of extraordinary achievement in your chosen area of achievement. Please tell us what inspired your initial interest in your field?

I was brought up in a family that was appreciative of the arts. I was exposed to musicals at a young age and my Nana was able to introduce me to singing, piano and guitar. Growing up, I always had an interest in performing, and I was lucky enough to explore that through community theatre and my high school’s performing arts programme (Kristin School in Albany).

Once I was old enough to understand that acting could be a career choice, I always knew deep down that I wanted to pursue it professionally. It wasn’t until I was invited to London to perform for Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber in my final year of school that I was instilled with the confidence to really commit to this choice.

What has the AIMES Award enabled you to achieve that you might not otherwise have done? Please tell us how it has helped you progress your career to date.

The performing arts industry is notorious for its challenges and providing very little job security. This is especially true after graduating from drama school (I studied at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in Perth), while you are still making a name for yourself. As such, there are periods in between work where you still need to go to dance classes, take singing lessons, keep yourself growing and being the best performer you can be. The AIMES Award allowed me the security to do that, so that I always felt prepared when an opportunity would come along. 

Please tell us about any influential mentors or sources of inspiration who have helped you achieve in your chosen area of activity and what difference they have made to the direction you have taken.

The only reason I am lucky enough to do what I do is because of my family, specifically my mother. If it wasn’t for her unconditional love and support, I wouldn’t have the means, let alone the confidence, to be the actor I am. I realise that not all children get support from their parents to pursue a career in the arts, and I am forever thankful that I was an exception from childhood. Every day my mother inspires me with her determination, selflessness, optimism and incredible charisma. Having her as the biggest inspiration in my life aids me onstage and off.

What is your ultimate career goal?

I actually feel lucky enough to say I’m living it at the moment. I am currently playing the role of Elder McKinley in the Australian tour of 'The Book of Mormon'. It is a dream role in one of my favourite musicals and I constantly pinch myself that my job is to have so much fun in a musical that is an international phenomenon, and I am getting to travel all over the country to do it. One day, I would love the opportunity to originate a role in a new musical, being the first one to bring myself to how a character is created and constructed.

What further steps do you believe you need to take to reach this, and how will you go about doing that?

In Australia, there are many opportunities to do readings or workshops of original material. In fact, I was lucky enough to originate the lead role of an Australian musical ’The Gathering’ in my first year post-graduatiion. Originating a role is about continuing to take on opportunities to workshop new material, meet new creators, and be ready for the opportunity when the timing lines up for a show to be taken to performance level. 

Having achieved an AIMES award and gone on to build a career after that, what two key pieces of advice would you give to any talented young people who would like to progress in their chosen fields?

In a general sense, you have to have a passion for what you do. AIMES Awards generally reward fields that require extreme hard work and sacrifice. If you are lucky enough to find something you love and have the opportunities to pursue it, I can assure you it is an incredibly rewarding place to be in when you feel like you’re not ‘working' a day in your life. I also think that all of the applicable fields require a great deal of social skills and communication. The desire to meet new people and collaborate with many personalities is one that will often bring about many opportunities, no matter what career you are pursuing.